Paralowie, SA
By Lauren McCaleb · Reviewed by Dylan Duncan ·
Paralowie is a largely residential suburb in Adelaide's northern reaches. It was officially named in 1980, the name said to combine words from Aboriginal languages — 'para', thought to mean river, and 'owie', taken to mean water. European settlement dates from the late nineteenth century, when the land was given over mainly to market gardens and farms; significant growth did not arrive until after the Second World War, with the suburb expanding rapidly from the 1980s through the mid-1990s. Among its heritage landmarks is Paralowie House, a villa on Waterloo Corner Road built in 1894 and listed on the South Australian Heritage Register. It survives as a reminder of the era before Salisbury North was absorbed into metropolitan Adelaide, when the district was still a semi-rural landscape of larger estates. The former farmhouse known as Judd's Homestead, tied to the Burdett family and their cattle stud, is likewise recognised for its heritage value.
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Paralowie is more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of the 14,462 Australian suburbs we score, based on the ABS SEIFA index (raw score 880, where about 1000 is the national average).
A socio-economic measure from ABS Census data — not a measure of how good a suburb is to live in or visit. How we calculate this.
Is Paralowie a good place to live?
There’s no single answer — it depends on what matters to you. So instead of one mystery number, we break it down: a transparent score on each part of life we can back with public data, and an honest “not yet” on the parts we can’t.
Lower on the data we score
A weighted blend of the 2 components we can score for Paralowie from public data. It sits alongside — and reconciles with — the socio-economic Suburb Score above; it is a transparent read, not a complete verdict.
Socio-economic advantage
8/100Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs
Among Australia's less advantaged suburbs — the same ABS SEIFA-based Suburb Score (8/100) shown above. Income, education and occupation, as published by the ABS. · ABS SEIFA 2021
Housing affordability
41/100Around the national median for cost
Median weekly rent was $305 at the 2021 Census — more affordable than about 41% of suburbs we can compare. Housing data only, no valuations. · ABS Census 2021
Not yet scored
We’d rather leave these open than publish a number we can’t stand behind. Here’s where each one stands.
- Amenities & accessNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap amenity mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- Green spaceNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap green-space mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- TransportNot scored yet — our OpenStreetMap public-transport mapping is still rolling out across suburbs.
- SchoolsNot scored yet — school performance (ACARA / ICSEA) needs a data-reuse licence cleared before we can publish it.
- SafetyNot scored yet — Australia has no single open crime dataset and safety data carries defamation and legal care, so it is gated pending a go/no-go and will be data-only when added.
- CommunityNot scored yet — we won't reduce community to a number from a proxy. We'd rather leave it open than publish an invented value judgement.
A transparent read on public data, not a verdict — and not a measure of any person or community. See our methodology for how each component is worked out and why some aren’t scored yet.
Paralowie at a glance
- Population (2021)
- 17,504
- Median age
- 35
- Median weekly household income
- $1,479
- SEIFA score
- 880
- Local government area
- Salisbury
- Coordinates
- -34.7571, 138.6120
Map of Paralowie
© OpenStreetMap contributors · View larger map
Housing & property in Paralowie
What it costs to live in Paralowie and how residents hold their homes, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census.
- Median rent
- $305
- per week
- Median mortgage
- $1,300
- per month
- Owner-occupied
- 74%
- of dwellings
- Rented
- 24%
- of dwellings
The full tenure and dwelling-type breakdown is in the Paralowie demographics section below.
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021. © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. See our methodology.
Paralowie demographics (2021 Census)
The figures below profile Paralowie using the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census; every percentage is a share of a clearly stated Census count, so each one traces back to the source. At a glance, the largest age group is young adults (25–44) at 29% and 31% of residents were born overseas.
Age profile
| Age group | People | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Children (0–14) | 3,714 | 21% |
| Youth (15–24) | 2,462 | 14% |
| Young adults (25–44) | 5,043 | 29% |
| Mid-life (45–64) | 4,484 | 26% |
| Seniors (65+) | 1,813 | 10% |
Share of the 17,516 people counted by age.
Housing and households
| Tenure | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Owned outright | 1,418 | 24% |
| Owned with a mortgage | 2,923 | 50% |
| Rented | 1,430 | 24% |
| Dwelling type | Dwellings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Houses | 5,549 | 94% |
| Townhouses & semis | 274 | 5% |
| Flats & apartments | 55 | 1% |
Tenure and dwelling shares are of the roughly 5,888 occupied private dwellings in Paralowie.
- Average household size
- 2.9 people
- Median weekly family income
- $1,657
- Median weekly personal income
- $678
Community and culture
- Born overseas
- 5,305 (31%)
- Speaks a language other than English at home
- 5,453 (32%)
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander
- 532 (3%)
Work and education
- Completed Year 12
- 6,068 (46%)
- Labour-force participation
- 62.8%
- Unemployment rate
- 7.9%
- Employed full-time
- 4,764
- Employed part-time
- 2,781
Source: ABS Census of Population and Housing, 2021 (General Community Profile, by Suburb and Locality). © Australian Bureau of Statistics, released under CC BY 4.0. How we group bands and derive each share is set out on our methodology page.
Weather and climate in Paralowie
Based on 2014–2023 records, the warmest month in Paralowie is January (average daytime high around 28.7°C) and the coolest is July (around 14.6°C). The area receives roughly 542 mm of rain across the year.
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 28.7°C | 17.4°C | 32 mm |
| Feb | 27.6°C | 17°C | 23 mm |
| Mar | 25.6°C | 15.8°C | 18 mm |
| Apr | 22.4°C | 13.5°C | 48 mm |
| May | 18.1°C | 11°C | 63 mm |
| Jun | 15.4°C | 8.8°C | 67 mm |
| Jul | 14.6°C | 8°C | 64 mm |
| Aug | 15.3°C | 8.1°C | 69 mm |
| Sep | 17.9°C | 9.6°C | 49 mm |
| Oct | 21.6°C | 11.7°C | 42 mm |
| Nov | 23.9°C | 13.4°C | 41 mm |
| Dec | 26.7°C | 15.4°C | 26 mm |
Climate normals, 2014–2023 (Open-Meteo, ERA5 reanalysis).
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Common questions about Paralowie
Is Paralowie a good place to live?
There's no single answer, so we score what the public data can back. On socio-economic advantage and housing affordability, Paralowie rates 19/100 overall (Lower on the data we score). Public transport, schools and safety aren't scored yet — see our methodology for why.
What is the median rent in Paralowie?
At the 2021 Census, the median weekly rent in Paralowie was $305, and the median monthly mortgage repayment was $1,300. These are official ABS Census figures — StreetScout publishes housing data only, with no property valuations or agent referrals.
Where is Paralowie?
Paralowie is a suburb of South Australia, Australia, in the Salisbury local government area.
What is the population of Paralowie?
At the 2021 Census, Paralowie had a population of about 17,504.
Is Paralowie an advantaged area?
Paralowie has an ABS SEIFA score of 880, where about 1000 is the national average — higher scores indicate greater relative socio-economic advantage. That gives it a Suburb Score of 8 out of 100 — more socio-economically advantaged than about 8% of Australian suburbs.
What is the weather like in Paralowie?
Paralowie has average daytime highs of about 21.5°C and overnight lows of about 12.5°C, with roughly 542 mm of rain across the year (based on 2014–2023 climate normals).
How big is Paralowie?
Paralowie is one of the most populous suburbs in South Australia — the 6th-largest by usual resident population at the 2021 Census (about 17,504 usual residents).
Where Paralowie ranks
Paralowie appears in these data-driven guides — each a transparent sort on a single ABS figure shown on this page.
Nearby suburbs in South Australia
More suburb guides in South Australia
Other hand-written, cited guides — browse all guides.